North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts August 2009 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 1.03

North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts AUGUST 2009 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 1.03

SAN JOSE, Calif. – September 17, 2009 – North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $599.0 million in orders in August 2009 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.03, according to the August 2009 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 1.03 means that $103 worth of orders was received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in August 2009 was $599.0 million. The bookings figure is about 5 percent greater than the final July 2009 level of $571.8 million, and about 31 percent less than the $866.8 million in orders posted in August 2008.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in August 2009 was $579.9 million. The billings figure is almost 8 percent greater than the final July 2009 level of $538.0 million, and just over 45 percent less than the August 2008 billings level of $1.06 billion.

“Equipment bookings have increased for five months in a row as market conditions recover from the very low levels reported earlier this year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “With semiconductor device sales and fab capacity utilization improving over recent months, we expect equipment spending to follow a similar trend during the recovery.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

Billings
(Three-month avg.)

Bookings
(Three-month avg.)

Book-to-Bill

March 2009

438.3

245.6

0.56

April 2009

385.7

249.0

0.65

May 2009

392.6

287.8

0.73

June 2009

440.5

351.7

0.80

July 2009 (final)

538.0

571.8

1.06

August (prelim)

579.9

599.0

1.03

Source: SEMI September 2009

The data contained in this release were compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.

The data are contained in a monthly Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. The report tracks billings and bookings worldwide of North American-headquartered manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not billings and bookings of the chips themselves. The Book-to-Bill report is one of three reports included with the Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS).

SEMI is the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. SEMI member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Bangalore, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org.